lurkers-guide/synops/114

<h3>Synopsis by Arturo Magidin (magidin@matem.unam.mx)</h3>

<p>
On a desolate planet, amidst old ruins, a group of human
archaeologists work carefully in a deep tunnel. The leader,
Dr. Bryson, is sure they are about to get to "the main vault,"
although according to another archaeologist, he has been saying that
for two days. But soon Dr. Bryson finds a metal disc on the
wall; on one side is the symbol for death, and on the other side the
symbol for eternal life. The wall is broken down, and they find
themselves in a large gallery full of small, glowing globes, thousands
of them. But as they enter, a beacon is activated outside.

<P>
According to Bryson, the globes hold personalities, souls. He believes
they will lead him to the secret of immortality. As Bryson's hand
nears a globe, whispers are heard throughout the room. The whispers
die away when he withdraws his hand.

<P>
Just then, they hear a ship flying outside. The second in command,
Klaus, orders everyone out. "If whoever built this place has come
back," he says, "they might let us leave alive if we touch nothing."
Klaus and the others leave, but Bryson takes some sort of device, and
a globe which is larger than the rest. Then he follows the others, and
arrives at the entrance to the tunnel just in time to see the others
running towards their ship. But they don't make it: a craft fires on
them and they are caught in an explosion. Bryson hides inside the
tunnel, avoiding detection. As he hugs the globe he has taken, he
seems to hear something. "Hmmm? No, don't... don't worry," he tells
the globe. "We'll find a way. I'll never let you go. Never." Outside,
the alien ship is gone, and Bryson makes his way back to his ship.

<P>
A few days later, Lt. Corwin runs into a relaxed Capt. Lochley in the
Zocalo on Babylon 5. Lochley notes that things have been quiet since
Sheridan and Garibaldi left the station for Minbar and Mars,
respectively (<a href="../guide/109.html">"Objects at Rest"</a>,
<a href="../guide/108.html">"Objects in Motion"</a>). No big
crises. She likens it to the "Pauli effect," named after Wolfgang
Pauli, a 20th century physicist whose mere presence in the lab would,
according to folklore, ruin experiments, and make equipment malfunction or
even blow up. "So now there is the Sheridan/Garibaldi effect," she
jokes as she buys a glass vase. She misses Sheridan on a personal
level, but the problems also seem to be gone. The station is quiet,
pleasant, almost manageable.

<P>
Lt. Corwin was looking for Lochley, though, to tell her Garibaldi has
just come on board. Just then, a fistfight erupts behind
them. "Suddenly," says Lochley, "I have this great blinding pain
behind my left eye..."

<P>
An unassuming man makes his way to Brown Sector, and knocks a
prearranged rhythm on a door. The door slides open, and he steps into a
room adorned with neon lights reading "Virtual Excitment" and
"Pleasure for men and women."

<P>
"Is she ready?" he asks the owner. It is a holobrothel. The image of
a scantily clad woman appears, taken from a photograph he
supplied. The proprietor asks him if he knows how to use the VR suits,
offering assistance, but the customer assures him he can figure it
out. He goes into a room, following the hologram. A few seconds later,
the lights dim briefly and a yell of pain is heard. "I said he didn't
know how to use it," the proprietor says angrily. "Idiot. If he shorts
that thing out, I'm going to charge him double."

<P>
Mr. Garibaldi is in Lochley's office, explaining why he is there. Ever
since taking over Edgars Industries (<a
href="../guide/108.html">"Objects in Motion"</a>) he has been
tracking down black projects the company ran under Clark's
administration. Programs Edgars never told anyone about. He keeps the
good ones, and closes the not so good ones.  He is on the station
because it was a convenient place to meet the man in charge of one
such project; he'll leave once the meeting is dones. Lochley is called
on the link: Mr. Garibaldi's appointment has arrived. "You told him to
meet you <em>here?</em>" Lochely asks, clearly annoyed. Garibaldi figured it
would be a good place in case they missed each other. Before the man
comes in, though, Lochley asks, "Still sober?" "As a judge," Garibaldi
answers. "I'm glad," says Lochley sincerely.

<P>
The man comes in: Dr. Robert Bryson. Dr. Bryson and Garibaldi leave to
talk. In Dr. Bryson's quarters, the globe he found on the planet
glows.

<P>
Garibaldi wants to know what the project Bryson is working on is. He's
received over 2 million credits a year, but the project is only
identified in the records as "L.E." Bryson explains it might refer to
his pet name for the project: "Life Eternal." Bryson wants to discover
the secret to immortality. Bryson points out humans can live to 110,
115 years, but other, more advanced races, can live for double, triple
that; some sustain life one way or another for thousands of years, and
others have eliminated death entirely.

<P>
Garibaldi is not convinced. Even assuming immortality exists, it would
probably be available only to the very rich. Dr. Bryson agrees; in
fact, the probable profit is what made William Edgars invest in the
project in the first place. And after three years, Bryson believes a
recent discovery may unlock the secret to eternal life. But he doesn't
want to share more until he is more certain.

<P>
Garibaldi is not impressed, and is unwilling to grant even the few
days Brson wants to finish his preliminary analysis. He insists that
Bryson turn over the notes from his last three years of work, in the
morning at the latest, so Garibaldi can decide whether to continue
funding. Bryson has no choice: he promises the notes will be ready in
the morning.

<P>
Lochley is working in her office when Corwin escorts a man inside. He
is Mr. Clute, the customer from the holobrothel. Mr. Clute wants to
complain about the equipment there, claiming it was dangerously
faulty. Lochley doesn't understand: as far as she is aware, there are
no holobrothels on Babylon 5. But Mr. Clute claims the business is
sanctioned by Babylon 5. Lochley asks Corwin to have Mr. Clute give a
full report to security, and then let Zack take care of the problem.

<P>
In his quarters, Dr. Bryson has rigged an interface with the station's
power lines, which he uses to activate the device he took from the
gallery. The device seems to act as a viewer or communicator, allowing
him to peer inside the globe. There he sees a face, but it appears the
face does not hear or see him. Bryson records in his log, "I've made
contact."

<P>
In Brown 11, Zack Allan reaches the holobrothel. The door opens after
he knocks the required rhythm. He asks to see the owner, who arrives
and identifies himself as Jacob Mayhew. Zack tells him to pack up and
leave the station as soon as possible, but Mayhew refuses: he has a
six month lease, paid for in advance, and an entertainment license. The
license does not exclude holobrothels specifically, and according to
Mayhew may be interpreted as covering them. The permit allows him to
run an entertainment business, after all. And it is all illusions:
holograms and sensual telemetry body suits. "You can do anything you
want to anybody you want. You just bring me a picture, I'll supply the
fantasy," he offers Zack. But Zack clearly is not interested. Mayhew
refuses again to leave, and is willing to go to court over it. "You
got it," says Zack. "Meanwhile, I suggest you tell these other folk
here about how this equipment of yours is dangerous and faulty. Hell,
I'm suprised nobody has been electrocuted by now." Zack leaves, and
Mayhew tells his secretary to call 'Riley.'

<P>
Meanwhile, Bryson continues his experiments using more power to try to
communicate better. And he succeeds: a tendril of light connects the
globe and the device, and a shape forms, hanging in mid-air. Bryson
finally manages to communicate, and asks the figure its name. But the
figure doesn't seem to understand, and screams in agony. "What's
wrong?" Bryson asks.

<P>
"They came for us," the figure says. "They took us away. They had no
right. Let me go back to sleep. Let me die." "Then you're not dead!"
says Bryson, elated and curious. "You don't understand," the figure
continues. "Leave us alone..." "Don't understand... what?" asks
Bryson. "Leave us alone!" yells the figure before exploding into tiny
shards of light, which then coalesce back to the tendril of light and
return to the globe.

<P>
"Must write this down," Bryson mutters to himself. But he is too
tired, and soon falls asleep. His pen knocks the globe into the
device, and a surge travels from the globe all the way to Babylon 5's
power grid.

<P>
Zack is patrolling in Blue Sector when he hears whimpering and
crying. A woman draped in dark veils sits on some stairs crying for
her children. When Zack flashes his flashlight in her direction, he can
see through her as if she were a projection. "Where are my children?"
continues the figure, and then jumps straight through Zack before
disappearing.

<P>
In the morning, while Lochley is having breakfast, she is approached
by a man who identifies himself as James Riley. He is Mayhew's
attorney, and has a restraining order. He also serves Lochley, who is
bein sued (as is Babylon 5 as a corporation) for harassment, violation
to Mayhew's rights, obstruction of trade, and slander. The last refers
to Zack's parting comments about the equipment. Lochley thinks it is
some kind of joke, but Riley points out that the fines, for which
Lochley would be liable, could amount to millions of credits. "See you
in court," he adds cheerfully on his way out of the Zocalo.

<P>
Garibaldi arrives in Bryson's quarters, and finds him very
excited. Bryson has clearly not slept much. The room is a mess. When
Garibaldi asks for the notes, Bryson tells him he has burned them:
they've become irrelevant in light of his new find. He doesn't even
need the money anymore. "I have everything that I need," says
Bryons. "I just need to go deeper, look more deeply, listen to them
more closely." Bryson then kicks Garibaldi out.

<P>
Zack is astounded when he hears that Mayhew is suing them. He can't
win, after all. But Lochley points out that the objective is really
intimidation, harassment, and perhaps a settlement. In any case, they
can certainly tie things up until the lease expires. They need to be
more discreet dealing with Mayhew. But Zack is very unhappy. He even
claims Mayhew sent a hologram to try to scare him. He recounts his
experience with the crying woman. But Lochley points out the amount of
energy needed to do that is too big. Mayhew can only create holograms
within the confines of his establishment.

<P>
Just then, Garibaldi comes in. He's done, and will be leaving as soon
as he can. They are interrupted by the Captain's link: something
unusual is coming through the jumpgate. She turns on the screen to
see it, and Garibaldi recognizes the ship: a Soul Hunter ship (<a
href="../guide/002.html">"Soul Hunter"</a>). The globe in
Bryson's office shines more brightly; he approaches it, and listens to
sounds only he can hear. "They're here," Bryson mutters, and packs the
globe away.

<P>
Meanwhile, Garibaldi is telling Lochley what he knows: Soul Hunters
show up when someone is about to die. Lochley asks him to help out
with the Soul Hunters, since he has had some dealings with them
before. Lochely, Garibaldi, and Zack arrive at the docking bay, with
an armed security detail, just as the Soul Hunter emerges from his
ship.

<P>
"Who are you here for?" asks Garibaldi. "Not you," answers the Soul
Hunter. "None of you, not today. Something was stolen from us. Taken
here." When asked how he knows, the Soul Hunter says the thief's
companions told him; he then produces a small shining globe. The
lights dim, and inside the globe they can see faces screaming in
agony. "How do we know?" answers the Soul Hunter. "We know." The
lights go back up. He even knows the name of the thief: Bryson.

<P>
"What did he take?" asks Garibaldi. "More than you can possibly
imagine," replies the Soul Hunter. The globe contains the entire
civilization from Ralga, an advanced race that chose not to fare among
the stars. They were all going to die, so the order of Soul Hunters
arrived to save the entire world. It was one of three times the Soul
Hunters captured an entire planet at the moment of death. Then the
vessel was put in a whisper gallery, where Bryson found it.

<P>
Lochley agrees with the Soul Hunter that the globe should be returned,
but Zack isn't so sure. Who gave the Hunters permission? Were the
peole of Ralga consulted, and did they choose to be locked up forever?
The Soul Hunter points out the alternative is death, and "nothing is
beyond" death, according to their beliefs.

<P>
Bryson's quarters are searched, but he is gone. The Soul Hunter says
that the longer you have the vessel, the more you can hear the voices
of the souls inside. The vessel should be returned: only the Soul
Hunters can attend to it safely. When Lochley asks him what he means,
the Soul Hunter replies: "There is strength enough in one mind, one
soul, to change the universe. Can you imagine how much strength there
is in one billion souls, all focused on escape?" "Or worse," Lochley
points out. "Revenge." Given someone they can influence and enough time,
the souls could do anything.

<P>
Somewhere on the station, the souls speak to Bryson. "Yes, I
understand," Bryson tells the globe. "I won't let them have
you. No matter what. Better to destroy the station, embrace the
darkness, than go back there."

<P>
Lochley orders a full search of the entire station, and wants to hear
reports on anything strange. Meanwhile, Bryson again powers up the
device and touches it to the soul vessel, allowing more souls to
travel through the power grid. Two of them make their way to the
holobrothel, where they inhabit the holograms of two of Mayhew's
'creations,' and start kissing. Another makes it to a Babcom screen,
and then appears carrying a long blade, with which he attacks someone.

<P>
Lochley enters her quarters and finds the Soul Hunter inside; he made
the guards 'sleep' and came inside because his spirit wanted him to be
there. He is curious: Soul Hunters have little to do with others. When
Lochley asks, he describes what they do with the souls. They are
placed in great halls, where they can talk to one another or to the
Soul Hunters, but can do nothing else. Lochley says that sounds like hell to
her, but the Soul Hunter insists she does not understand: her desires
and needs are a product of her flesh, not her soul.

<P>
Their conversation is interrupted as the lights dim inside. Some
souls have been following the sound of the Hunter's voice, and are
pushing against the walls. A power surge forms on a console. The Soul
Hunter tells Lochley to leave, but as she is doing so, she sees the
souls about to strike the Hunter from behind. He pushes him out of the
way, and is hit in the chest instead, thrown to the far wall. She
slowly slips to the ground and falls unconscious.

<P>
She is taken to MedLab, where her heart stops. She can then feel
herself outside her body, plummeting down through the decks, and then
keeps falling. Finally she arrives in a place she does not know:
Ralga, inside the soul vessel.

<P>
There she is met by what appears to be Dr. Franklin. But that's only
because that is who she wants it to be. According to Franklin, inside
the globe one sees only the familiar. He is really a Ralgan. He
explains she got caught in a power struggle. The "Mad Ones" were
trying to kill the Soul Hunter, but the rest managed to change the
surge so it wouldn't kill her; instead, it stopped her heart for a
second, so they could bring her in to talk. He continues to explain:
the "Mad Ones" are those driven insane by the 10000 years of
captivity, and there are more of them every year.

<P>
Lochley wonders why they don't just get Bryson to destroy the globe so
they can die, but Franklin explain they were not dying in the first
place. They were about to undergo an evolutionary change, leave their
bodies behind, become energy, when the Soul Hunters came and
imprisoned them. The Soul Hunters made a mistake, and he hopes Lochley
can make them understand that. But she is leaving the vessel already,
as her heart begin to beat again.

<P>
Outside the station, dozens more Soul Hunter ships are arriving.

<P>
The Soul Hunter comes to see Lochley and to thank her for saving him:
she is the first one ever to save a Soul Hunter; in so doing, she has
helped change his view of others, and for that he wants to thank
her. He also tells her the other Soul Hunters have arrived, impatient
with his lack of progress. Unless the soul vessel is returned soon,
they will come aboard and attend to it themselves. Their ships can
burn through the hull if necessary. He will speak on behalf of Babylon
5, but he also warns Lochley they are less patient with other races
than he is. "Our order is disciplined and directed. We do not make
mistakes."

<P>
"Yes, you do," replies Lochley, getting up. She tells him she was
taken inside the vessel, but the doesn't believe her at first: it's
impossible. She describes the planet, and he is less sure, but still
cannot understand: ordinarily, souls shouldn't be that strong
yet. Lochley points out they aren't ordinary souls, and explains the
Ralgans were evolving into beings of pure energy, not dying;
but the Soul Hunters came and imprisoned them. They made
a mistake, trapped living souls in their prime. The Soul Hunter cannot
believe it, but must. He wants to know what to do. For now, Lochley
asks him to help keep the others out, buy her more time. He agrees to
try, and leaves. She follows him out, still in pain and groggy. She
makes her way to Brown 11, where Zack has concentrated his
investigation. While en route, she is told the Soul Hunters are
holding position, and that some atypical readings from the reactor
have been detected.

<P>
Zack and Garibaldi find the man who was attacked by the ghost with the
blade.  He is dead, but not from any injuries: he was literally scared
to death.

<P>
Mayhew makes his way to Zack, complaining all the way. He accuses Zack
of harassment, and of interfering with his programs. Then he notices
the dead body. "You mean this isn't a routine just to get rid of us?"
he asks, and takes them to the holobrothel, where hundreds of luminous
shapes are moving around, leaving the room. Zack thinks it makes
sense: they are trying to get into bodies, even if they are only
projections. According to Mayhew, they have access to all his
files. Just then, a projection of Lochley, scantily clad, walks by the
doorway.

<P>
The real Lochley arrives and is extremely angered by the image. But
she has better things to do. She points out the souls must be pumping
in a lot of energy in order to be taking the images out of the
brothel. Then, humanoid shapes move past the Lochley image, and the
latter joins them. In a large bay, the holographic Lochley joins
hundreds of glowing humanoids, and addresses them:

<P>
"For 10000 years we have been prisoners. For ten thousand years we
have had one need, one dream, one ambition. To strike back at those who
imprisoned us. Though we will enter the great dark with them, the
sacrifice is a worthy one. To end our suffering and our pain. To end
it all... We are on the path. Now all we have to do is wait here, and
let our vengeance come to us."

<P>
The lights dim for a second, but the holograms do not. Lochley
realizes this, and is suddenly very worried. She leaves to 'test a
theory.' She joins the now still images, but they don't react. "I was
right," she says to herself. They are meant as a distraction: nobody
is really there. But before continuing, she wants to get rid of the
holograms anyway: the Mad Ones could use them to see and hear. So over
Mayhew's vocal protests, she throws a thermal grenade into the
holobrothel, blowing up the holographic projectors.

<P>
Lochley points out they must have access to the enhanced fusion reactor in
Babylon 5. They will probably blow up the station, so they can destroy
the Soul Hunters outside, even if it means dying themselves.

<P>
Indeed, the reactor will go critical in 15 minutes, and Bryson has
locked up the controls. But now they know where he is. Zack goes to
gather a strike team, and Garibaldi and Lochley make their own way
there.

<P>
On the way, they find the Soul Hunter. Unfortunately, the other Soul
Hunters did not believe him. Since he is only 4000 years old, they
think he is too naive. The others think it is all an elaborate ruse to
keep the soul vessel. After all, if the story about the souls were
true, a routine investigation would have detected it. But since the
order couldn't have made a mistake in the first place, such an
investigation was never made. If the vessel is not returned within 20
minutes, the Soul Hunters will attack the station.

<P>
Bryson is sitting alone, surrounded by a shimmering column of energy,
the vessel floating just above his hands. He seems oblivious to
everything. The assault team gathers around him, as Garibaldi tries to
talk to Bryson. But he cannot get through, and the souls attack him
instead. The assault team fires, but the PPG charges can't get through
the column of energy.

<P>
The Soul Hunter blames his order, their arrogance, for the current
crisis. He now sees their many mistakes: storing the souls in dark
places where they would go mad; taking them in the first place was a
mistake. "We actually thought we were doing them a service, an honor,"
says the Soul Hunter. "Can you imagine... Instead, we were monsters,
a terror worse than death."

<P>
In time, he is sure, the others would understand... and he gets an
idea. He goes towards Bryson, and says: "Listen to me, please. What we
did to you was wrong. I see that now... And there may be a way to
correct our mistake. But this destruction is not it. We can return you
to our world and find a way to release you from your bondage. At
first, for brief times of course, as you have achieved here through
the holograms. And then, later, we can invite others to come and allow
you to express yourselves through them. Allow you to... see an open
sky again, allow you to feel the ground under your feet again. Until
that day when we will release you permanently. I know that my order
will set this mistake right, once they undertand that they have made a
mistake. Once we <em>make</em> them understand."

<P>
Until then, the Soul Hunter offers himself as a symbol of his
sincerity. If the souls take him inside the globe, it will prove they
are really highly developed living souls, cut off at the wrong
time. And once he is inside, they will know he is telling the
truth. "Let my soul be a bridge between us, and let my soul be doorway
to hope."

<P>
He touches the column of energy, and is engulfed in light. The light
then retreats into the globe, and the Soul Hunter's body slumps to the
grond, dead. The column disappears, the globe falls back to Bryson's
hands, and Bryson collapses.

<P>
A lone Soul Hunter arrives later to claim the vessel. Lochley tells
him: "I never knew the name of the other one from your order who came
here. He never told me. I don't even know if you have names. All I
know is that he gave his promise and his life to protect you and this
place, and the billion minds trapped inside this thing. Make sure that
the promises he made on your behalf are kept, or I promise you, the
Hunters will become the hunted. I will do whatever it takes to make
sure his sacrifice was not in vain."

<P>
The Soul Hunter nods and takes the globe. Inside, the first Soul
Hunter sees Lochley walking towards him, saying "The mind sees what it
needs to see. The soul sees what the soul sees." The Soul Hunter
smiles, content.

<P>
Outside, the Soul Hunters leave, the crisis safely over. Garibaldi is
also leaving soon; but unfortunately for Lochley, he has plans to come
back in a month. As he leaves the office, a vase falls to the ground
and shatters, another manifestation of the Garibaldi-effect.

<P>
Riley comes in.  Since Lochley blew up his client's establishment,
they will press criminal charges as well. But, according to Lochley,
the lease specifies that there is no liability for damages due to
military action. In fact, she already has the depositions of all
security personnel involved, supporting her conduct and
decision. Also, since the establishment is gone, the other charges are
moot. If they contest this, she will sue them for unauthorized use of
her image in the holobrothel, a case they will surely lose. They will
get nothing. Riley is nonplussed, but leaves empty handed. Another
crisis is over as well.

<P>
Babylon 5 can get back to normal... for now.